Forever is a Long Time
by silentdreamer001
Summary: Asana's just a normal girl. Well, as normal as a 17-year old girl who doesn't have any memories of her lift past three years ago can be. Even though there's a part of her that's missing, she still manages to pull through and eventually stumbles across everyone's favorite Fairy Tail gang! There's something about familiar about that rag-tag team that Asana can't figure out...
1. First Meeting?

A/N: Sup? It's me again with another fanfic! *ahem* I do not own Fairy Tail or it's characters. But I do own Asana,

Jeramy, Lyra, Caden, Nelenna... ok you get it... sorry. Enjoy!

* * *

_Chapter 1 - First Meeting?_

"The next round's on me!" Jeramy called, his words laced with a drunken slur. A chorus of hurrahs was all to be heard. I sat in the back of the small bar, watching the inhabitants with indifference. I 'technically' wasn't allowed in a bar (being 17), but since I was 'friends' with Jeramy, and Jeramy was the son of the owner, some strings were pulled and here I am.

I suppressed a yawn, leaning on the palm of my hand as I stared out the darkened window at the people on the street. They were all smiling or some sort of happy. A family of three passed by. Two small daughters were running ahead, laughing. A woman called out to them, a worried expression on her face. Ahead of them a young man kneeled down, his arms extended to the kids. They ran to him, jumping into his embrace.

Something inside me ached as I watched the family. A longing filled me, threatening to consume— Someone slid into the booth next to me, the stench of alcohol heavy. "Come on Asana, have a drink with me."

I smiled faintly, pretending to be disgusted, "As tempting as that offer is, Jeramy, I'll have to pass."

He stared down at me, his expression whiny, "Aww, you're such a spoiled sport."

I pushed him away, climbing from the booth and stretching, "And you're drunk."

He watched, his eyes traveling to the hem of my shirt. Snapping my fingers in his face, he winked, "You know it babe."

"Ugh." I rolled my eyes, "I have to go." I turned away from him, walking to the door.

"I will get you to drink with me," he called after me.

"Good luck with that," I said, the door swinging shut behind me. I made my way down the crowded streets of Magnolia Town. It was a happy place, with friendly people and smiling faces. The residents were at peace. It was definitely one of my favorite places to visit.

"Alright! So where we heading?" someone asked, loud and cheerful. The voice was strangely familiar; like a forgotten memory.

My eyes roamed the sea of faces, searching for the speaker. To my left was a group of four and a blue cat. Just from their appearance, they were a pretty strange bunch. The group was made of two girls and two boys. One of the girls had long scarlet red hair. She was wearing a half of a suit of armor, a dark blue skirt and knee high black boots. The other girl was blonde. Her hair was short, and pulled to the side and secured with a blue ribbon. Her outfit consisted of a fitting white and blue shirt, blue mini skirt and black high-heeled boots. A brown belt secured several small keys and a black whip.

The speaker, I found out, was one of the guys. He was lean and muscular with spiky pink hair. He wore a black waistcoat with gold trimmings over his chest, which was bare, white knee-length trousers and black open toed sandals. He had a thick black waistband on his left wrist and white scarf wrapped around his neck. The other guy was just as toned. His spiky black hair was his most prominent feature. He was wearing a long white coat and black pants. A silver necklace with the pendant as a sword hung securely on his chest.

They all seemed familiar. I had the feeling like I should know them. _Maybe from the paper, or overhearing some gossip._ I glanced up at the building. In big purple letters was a name; _Fairy Tail. A guild obviously._The same feeling of remembrance and longing filled my chest. I debated to walk up to the group. In the end, I decided against it. I was probably just reacting to something I'd seen or heard.

The blond pressed her hand against her face. Her voice was amused as she addressed the boy, "Did you even bother to read the flyer?"

He shrugged, "What's it matter?"

"You're an idiot, Natsu," the black haired boy said. He was calm, shaking his head in annoyance.

The pink haired boy-_Natsu_, I told myself- balled his fists stepping toward the other boy, "What'd you say?"

There was a slight tugging at the edge of my skirt. "Excuse me." I looked down. A little girl stood at my side. Her small hands clutching the material. She stared up at me with big brown eyes. Her brown hair was pulled into pigtails, on the sides of her head. I kneeled down and her hand dropped. There was something about odd about the girl. She was tense, like she was trying not to shake. "Are you a mage?"

I nodded, a feeling of urgency washing over me, "Sure am. Is something wrong?"

I felt something brake in the air. Water pooled on the girl's rims. Her hands went to her eyes automatically, rubbing at the tears. "It's my big brother," she cried.

Everything around us froze; conversations stopped, the bustle of the town died. Even the bickering from the group behind me quieted. I could feel the eyes of everyone fixed on the girl.

I placed my hands on her wrists, gently pushing them away from her face. My voice was slow and soothing, "What about your brother? What happened?"

Behind me, footsteps closed in. Four shadows stood over us, blocking out the sun. There was a rush of air as someone knelt beside me.

The girl's eyes focused on me, "I don't know. He hasn't come home. He left a few days ago. He said they would be back in two days, and he hasn't came back." Her hands returned to her eyes, water spilling from them in waves. "Please, miss. Find my brother."

My expression softened. It took a lot of strength to not gather her in my arms. I placed my hand on the top of her head. "Don't you cry anymore, OK?" Her hands stopped, dipping away as she looked up at me. "I'll find him. I promise."

Her eyes widened and the biggest smile spread over her features, brightening them. She leaped at me, wrapping small arms around my neck, "Thank you so much!" She let go as a frantic voice reached through the crowd.

"Lyra!" A woman pushed her way to the center, dropping to her knees and wrapping the girl in a hug. Her face was a mess with worry and happiness. She held the child at arms length, her eyes running over her daughter's body, "Don't you ever run off like that again."

"But mommy," she said trying to look back at me, "I got help."

"Help?"

Lyra nodded, struggling against her mother's grasp to point at me. Her face was lit with a proud smile, "Yeah mommy. That lady is a mage and she promised to help."

There was a tired sadness in her dark eyes crossed her eyes as she looked over me. It was gone just as quickly as it appeared.

I sat back on my knees, my comfort level dropping a few notches, "Ma'am, I'd like to ask you a few questions, if I may."

She scanned over the group behind me, "Are all of you going to search of him?" She stood, the child secured in her arms.

My eyebrows dipped in confusion as I followed I stood also, facing the group. I had already figured that it was the four from earlier.

Three of them turned to the redhead, who turned to me. Her eyes were brown and set with a determination that was intimidating. Her voice was hard as she spoke, "I don't see why that would be necessary."

"Erza," the blond said softly from beside me.

"You should be more than capable," she stated. Although is sounded like a question, I nodded sharply.

"Alright," the mother said. She latched a free hand in mine, pulling me away. "I'd like to discuss the details somewhere less crowded."

"OK," I said, although there wasn't a need.

"Wait up!" We both stopped, turning as Natsu ran up to us, the blue cat flying behind him. His black eyes flicked the woman and child before he addressed the me, "Is it alright if I join?"

My expression was guarded, "Why?"

He shrugged lightly, "You never know what'll happen."

"Fine," the woman answered for me. She tugged on my hand, pulling me along. There were no objections from his group as he followed after us.

"I'm Nelenna," she began, showing us to a small table in her dining room. Natsu and I took the offered seats next to each other. "Lyra, go play while we talk."

Lyra nodded obediently running down a hallway. Once she was out if earshot, Nelenna continued, "I'm sorry about my urgency. I just don't want Lyra to know how worried I am," she said, placing a glass of water in front of each of us.

I nodded my thanks, taking a sip.

The cat took a long drink, leaning against Natsu's arm as he spoke his question, "So you think something bad has happened?"

Nelenna nodded, taking the seat across.

I set the glass down. "We weren't given much details by Lyra, but she said that he's been gone for a few days. Why did he leave?"

She stared at the table, her hands folded in front of her, "He went searching for his father. I told him it was a waste. His father left this family years ago, he didn't want anything to do with Caden and Lyra. But Caden didn't believe me, he so admired his father. I think he went searching for answers more than anything." She sniffled, wiping under her eyes. Looking at us, she continued, "I'm afraid I don't have much, but I can offer a reward. Even if you can't convince him to come back home, I just want to know he's alive and unharmed."

"Don't worry, ma'am," Natsu declared. He pushed himself from the table. His eyes were burning with determination, "We'll find Caden."

She smiled warmly, "Thank you. Here's a picture of him."

She handed me a photograph. Natsu peered over my shoulder to get a look. His warm breath sent shivers up my spine. I pushed his closeness away, focusing on the picture. It was of two happy kids; Lyra and a boy nearly two feet taller than her with dark blond hair and his sister's brown eyes. "I last heard their father was heading for Hargeon Town."

"That's just a train ride away," I said, handing the picture back.

She shook her head, pushing it towards me, "Keep it. It'll be easier to recognize him with something to go off of."

"Thank you," I said, my grip on the photo tightening. I looked into her sad eyes, filled with the same determination flowing from Natsu. Standing I reassured her, "Don't worry about your son, Nelenna. We'll bring him home."

She nodded and we set out.

The sun was high in the sky by now as Natsu, the cat and I made out way to the train station in silence.

"Wait a minute," the cat said, it's voice was high and squeaky. Both Natsu and I stopped, turning to the creature. "We don't know each other."

"Hey you're right," Natsu said, turning to me. He stuck his thumb into his shoulder, "My name's Natsu and this is Happy."

"We're both in Fairy Tail," Happy declared cheerily.

"I'm Asana," I said, simply.

They were both silent, waiting for me to continue. When I didn't, Happy spoke up, "What's your guild?"

"I don't have one," I answered. I turned back to the station, walking forward.

It was silent behind me, before I heard quickening footsteps behind me. Natsu ran up beside me, "But wait. Why not? If you're a wizard, why aren't you with a guild?"

I shrugged, stretching my arms in the air, "I guess I never thought about joining with anyone. Besides, it's better this way; no one can get hurt."

"People are going to get hurt wherever you go. There's no stopping that, but in a guild there are others who will support you. It's like having one giant family," he said, with a big smile. "Why don't you join Fairy Tail?"

I only shrugged in response.

Natsu stepped in front of me, blocking my path. "Tell you what: while we do this mission, I want you to think about joining. I promise not to say another word about it till we fine Caden."

"Boy, you are serious about this guild business, aren't you?" After a few moments, I put my hands up in surrender, "OK, alright. I'll think about it. Just don't hold your breath."

The faint sound of a train horn sounded in the distance. "Oh, no," Happy said, "We're going to miss the train!"

"Train?" Natsu repeated, weakly. He stumbled a little, before falling against me.

"What is with you?"

"Natsu has bad motion sickness. If he even thinks about things that move, he gets like this," Happy informed.

"That bad, huh?" I mumbled. "It's not that far, about a couple days journey," I said, pushing him upright, "We could walk if you'd like."

He fell against me again, nodding.

I resisted rolling my eyes, "But you have to stand up."

He straightened himself, "Lets go!" Natsu walked ahead, more happy than ever.

"Aye!" Happy cried, following after Natsu.

"What did I get myself into?" I groaned.

"Asana, you comin' or what?"

"Yeah," I said, catching up with them.

**A/N: Hey again! I'm going to apologize now if anyone sees too OOC. I sincerely don't mean to if they are. And don't be afraid to write in the review if someone is! Or just comment on whatever, I guess. Anyway thanks for reading!**


	2. A New Friendship?

_~Chapter 2 - A New Friendship~_

* * *

It's been twelve long hours since we left the Magnolia Town Station. The sun was beginning it's decent into late afternoon. I wasn't carrying anything but my body ached. I could only imagine how Natsu was feeling

"Can we stop now?" Happy whined.

"Yeah," I answered. I stopped walking, looking past the road to the landscape. In the distance was a body of water the size of a small lake, an empty field, and a large willow tree.

"How about there?" I asked, pointing to said tree.

"Whatever is fine," the cat said. "I'm tired. And hungry."

"How are you tired?" I asked, carefully hiking down the hill. "You've been riding on Natsu's pack for most of the walk."

"That's not true!" he defended, flying up to my face.

"Yes it is. He should be more tired than you. You have wings for crying out loud!"

"I don't mind," Natsu cut in. "Happy doesn't weigh much, so there's no difference."

Happy shot me a smug smile. I glared back but stopped. _I'm arguing with a flying cat..._ Natsu walked ahead, dropping the rolled up comforter onto the grass. He stretched his arms in the air, arching his back. I stood back, watching. I caught myself staring at his arms; the muscle contracting and rippling.

I shook myself, continuing forward, "Lets set up camp."

We each decided to go in a different direction and meet back up at the camp. I took off behind the tree, heading towards the lake. It didn't take very long to fill my arms with varying sizes of sticks. I headed back to the willow.

I inspected the pile of wood. "This should be enough to last the night," I said, arranging them.

"Now we just need to light them," Happy said, looking up at his partner.

"I can do this," Natsu said, slamming his fists together. A red circle appeared.

_He's a fire wizard. Why didn't I see that? _"That's OK," I said, reaching into the blue pack hanging from my waist and strapped to my left thigh. I pulled out two small, crystalize rocks. They were the color of fire and shimmering brilliantly.

"What are those," Natsu asked, peering over my shoulder, Happy sitting on his.

"They're crystals," I answered simply.

"What do they do?"

"Just watch." I struck them together, pointing towards the pile of wood. Flames erupted from the spark, painting the scene before us in brilliant streaks of golds, reds, greens, and blues.

"Whoa," he said, slowly.

"They create fire!" Happy said.

"What?" Natsu looked at the wood. Sure enough, it was blazing with life. "That's amazing! Where'd you get those?"

"They were a reward for a mission," I said, simply. I stood, replacing them. "I hope you like fish."

"Fish!" Happy cried, floating.

"He loves it," Natsu said with a laugh.

I laughed with him, "There's a small lake just a few yards to my left. Stay here and make sure the fire doesn't go out, OK? It shouldn't take me very long."

"You don't want our help?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Do you want to help?"

Natsu shrugged, but Happy nodded rapidly, "Yeah, both you and Natsu should go. That'll mean more fish!"

Natsu and I shared glances. I shrugged, "I don't mind."

"You'll be OK guarding the fire?" Natsu asked, turning to Happy.

Happy saluted Natsu, "You can count on me!"

"Lets go," he said. We headed for the lake. As we approached, I could just see the creatures swimming mindlessly in the clear water. "You don't happen to have a fishing pole in there, do you?" he asked, eyeing my pouch.

I shook my head, "No, sorry. But if we sharpen the ends of two thick pieces of wood, the job will be simpler. Or we can always just try our luck catching them old school."

He laughed lightly, "It might take awhile to find sticks good enough to make spears. Good with your hands?"

"Don't worry about me," I said, flexing my fingers. I sat on the bank, removing my knee-high leather boots.

Natsu kicked off his sandals, "I can't wait to eat."

"We still don't know much about each other," Natsu said, after we had caught a handful of fish.

"Does it matter?" I asked, staring into my reflection, "I still haven't decided about your suggestion, and I don't think we'll see each other after we finish this."

"Why?"

I tossed my prey onto the shore. I put my hands in the air, arching my back, then shrugged, "It's just an observation. You belong with a team, I'm more of a drifter. Our meeting was completely by chance. These things don't happen twice."

"Why are you so negative?" he asked, standing straight.

"I'm not negative, I'm realistic."

"No, you're guarding yourself. The way you act, what you said earlier; why are you shutting others out?"

"It doesn't matter," I said, smacking at the water, my hand cutting a path to the fish.

"Yeah it does."

"Why do you care?" I shouted, accidentally releasing my catch. "Dammit."

"So caring is a bad thing now?" Natsu asked, getting just as angry.

"Can we just catch the stupid food?" I gathered my long hair, pinning it back with a thick black barrette.

"Aww, isn't that cute!" the comment was mocking, and came from behind me. Natsu acknowledged that he heard the comment, I continued to fish. "She's ignoring us," he said loudly. There was splashing behind me; more than just two bodies. "Don't you know it's impolite to ignore people?" He reached out, intending to spin me. I grabbed his hand as it closed in. Flipping him over my shoulder, he landed backwards in the spring, spraying Natsu and I with the water.  
"What the—?" one from his group said. Natsu only looked at me in surprise, an impressed smile forming.

"We're just trying to gather some food," I said, as sweetly as I could manage. He stared up at me in angry shock. "So do us a favor and continue walking." I headed for the shore, facing Natsu when I got there, "This should be enough right?"

"If not, we'll just set a limit," he answered, walking towards me. We gathered the food our arms, heading for our campsite. "That was pretty cool," he said after a minute.

I shrugged, "Guys like that annoy me. It's better to set them straight in the beginning. Saves some violence in the future."

"You're back!" Happy called, flying over to Natsu. "I kept the fire safe, and you have lots of food!"

"Good job Happy," Natsu said.

"I also found some sticks for us to put the fish on when it's cooking."

"Great," I congratulated. I looked behind me cautiously, expecting the boys to have followed us, demanding a fight but it was silent.

The sun had finally set, covering the ground with the soft, pale moonlight. After we had finished out meal, Happy and Natsu eating most of it, they both fell straight to sleep.

I remained awake, staring into the flickering flames. I pulled my knees closer to my chest, digging my chin into my arms. Faces began to appear in the fire; two young adults, both with dark red hair and cold eyes. They refused to smile.

They were familiar, constantly haunting my dreams.

"You OK?" Natsu asked. His voice was soft over the cackle of the wood.

"You're awake?" I said, quietly.

"Don't change the subject," he said, sitting up in his comforter. He shifted around Happy, careful not to wake the snoring cat.

I looked back at the fire, "I'm fine."

"Are you just saying that so I'll leave you alone?"

_Why is he so good at reading people?_ I shook my head, stretching my legs out, "No."

He sighed, "I'm sorry about earlier but if we'er going to be partners, I'm going to need you to trust me."

"We're going to be in Hargeon Town tomorrow," I said vacantly. _Just go to sleep already..._

"And? That's it?"

"Natsu, we've only known each other for about seventeen hours. It's not like we're friends," I said, standing.

He mimicked my action, "I know, but it's not right to live like this. You need friends to keep you going, help you get stronger. Maybe not an entire guild, but someone that you can share things with."

"That's not for me."

"Why?"

"What is it with you? Why do you care so much about me, my life? Why did you even ask to join me? It's a missing persons case. He was looking for his dad in a peaceful fishing town with little magic users. You learned this the same time I did and yet you continued to join me. Why Natsu? Plus you had you're own mission to go on," I added, remembering their conversation before Lyra got my attention.

He smiled, a salmon eyebrow raised, "So that's whats been bugging you."

"Of course it has!" I pressed my hands to my face, running them roughly through my hair, "Why am I getting so upset?" I asked myself more than him.

"You want to know why I stuck with you? It's because of Lyra. She lost her dad and now her brother's gone. Someone so little shouldn't have to lose any family members. I wanted to make sure I saw the smile on her face when her brother was returned to her."

"That's sweet," I said. I could feel the anger draining from me, leaving me more exhausted than before.

"And I think it'd be cool if we were friends. You would do good in Fairy Tail. We're all a family. We look after one another."

"I don't—"

"I guess I broke my promise, huh," he interrupted, rubbing the back of his head.

"That's a serious offense," I joked.

"I guess I'll just have to make it up to you," he said, a cunning smile on his face.

I shook my head, "Why do I get the feeling you meant to do that?"

He shrugged, "Let's get some sleep. Tomorrow's a big day!"

"Rise and shine!" the cheery, high-pitched voice I'd come to know said.  
I opened my eyes to Happy's smiling face. I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "Are you always this loud?"

"WAAAHH! Natsu, Asana's being mean to me!"

Natsu yawned loudly, "I'm sorry buddy." He looked to me, a small smile on his face, "Shall we head out?"

I arched my back, suppressing a yawn, "Yeah, just give me a sec."

He nodded, packing up his comforter. I stood up, stretching my arm across my chest. I locked my other arm around it, working the muscle. I did the same to the other arm. "Alright. Lets get Lyra her brother back."

Natsu smiled, determined.

With a good nights rest and some weight cleared, I found myself more eager to finish this mission. What Natsu said was completely correct; Lyra is too little to have lost both her brother and her dad. I could only imagine how she must be feeling.

"Look! I see it! I see Hargeon Town!" Happy cried.

I followed his line of sight. Sure enough, there was the port town.

"Wait a minute," Natsu said, staring hard at the town.

"What?"

"It's just, that town looks familiar. I remember!" his face dropped and he fell to his knees. "I don't think it's a good idea that I go back there."

"But why?"

"The last time we were here, Natsu destroyed half the town," Happy informed. _Is he always this chipper?_

"It wasn't my fault," he said bitterly. "That jerk was impersonating a member of Fairy Tail."

"Hang on a second. I think I remember reading something about that. Their marina was completely demolished." I gave him a sideways glance, "You did that by yourself?"

"Lucy helped," Happy cut in.

"That's right," Natsu said, brightening. "Aquarius was the one that used that attack and tossed the boat into the marina. Never mind, lets continue."

"O-Okay." _He sure does change emotions quickly._

Once we passed the train station, Natsu spoke up, "So, where should we start looking?"

I pulled the picture out, "Well, we could try asking around; see if any of the locals might've seen him."

"Aye!"

We went from person to person, asking everyone if they'd seen the kid. Every answer was the opposite of what we wanted.

"This is hopeless," I said, resting on a park bench.

"Aye," the cat agreed, wearily, falling beside me.

"We can't give up now," Natsu said. He was looking around. I could feel the anxiety rolling off him.

I leaned back on my hands, "Natsu, we've looked everywhere. Nobody has said that they've seen him. Maybe Nelenna got the towns mixed up."

"No, he's got to be here."

I sighed, pushing myself from the bench.

"—I told you, I'm not going back! Not without you!"

"Is that him?" Happy asked, pointing to two people; a small child with dark blond hair and an older man with light brown hair. The older man had his back to the kid.

"Looks like it," Natsu said. "Told you."

I smiled, shaking my head, "I'll give you this one." With Natsu and Happy following, we walked up to the two. The man turned sharply, raising his arm. I broke out into a run. As his arm came down, I put up my own arm to block the attack.

The man stared down at me, shocked.

I moved my arm, locking my hand around his wrist and twisting his arm. The man fell to the ground, crying out in agony, "Let me go!"

"How dare you try to strike your own child," I growled.

"You OK kid," Natsu said, once he caught up with me.

"Yeah," Caden said skeptically. "Please miss," his fingers clutched the material of my white overcoat, "Please let him go."

I nodded, releasing my grip. The man cradled his arm against his chest, "Who the hell are you?"

I ignored him, kneeling down to face the boy, "Is your name Caden?"

He nodded, his dark eyes flicking to the man.

"Hi, my name is Asana and these are my friends, Natsu and Happy. Your mom hired us to find you. She said you were trying to find your dad. Is that him?" I nodded my head at the man behind me.

"Yeah," his eyes grew shiny, "I'm sorry. I just wanted to know. Was mom mad?"

I pressed the palm of my hand against his cheek, "Of course not, Caden. She's just really worried. It's OK though. You're going to get your answers then we're going to take you back home."

"I have nothing to say to you," the man spat.

I sighed, my head dropping. I stood, turning on Caden's dad. "You will talk to your son, explain to him why you left. Don't you understand what that does to a child; much less two? You're their **father **and your son has left home to find you."

His eyes misted over. He looked from me, to the boy. "I'm so sorry, Caden," he sobbed. "I didn't mean to cause you or your sister any grief. Daddy got into some trouble and I wanted to make sure you two were safe. I would never forgive myself if something happened to you guys or your mother."

"Daddy." Caden jumped into his dad's arms, crying into his shirt.

I smiled at the scene. "What kind of trouble?" I asked, extending my hand to him.

He accepted my hand, holding Caden in his other arm, "I have a debt. I knew we didn't have the kind of money to pay for it and I couldn't take from the kids' savings. It killed me; telling Nelenna that I was leaving and that I didn't want to come back, but I did it to protect them I swear."

"Why don't you work at our guild?" Happy suggested. "Even if you're not a wizard, you could still provide service to the members. I'm sure master Makarov would pay."

"It might work," Natsu said. "Plus, you'd have the protection of every wizard in Fairy Tail."

"Well?" I asked the man.

"I'll try if I'll be able to be with my family."


	3. Should I Join?

_~Chapter 3 - Should I Join?~_

* * *

"What should we do first?" I asked Natsu as we entered Magnolia Town. We decided, overriding Natsu's opinion, to just take a train back. It took him a few minutes, but he eventually recovered from his motion sickness. I felt bad for the guy. "Take them to Nelenna or talk this Makarov person?"

"We"re going to Fairy Tail first," he said with a smile. "I want to make sure every end is tied before we reunite them."

I nodded, matching his smile. There was just something about him; whenever he smiled, I was happy.

"What do you think the others are doing?" I asked, keeping my eyes ahead of us.

"What do you mean?"

"You had another mission planned, before you asked to join up with me. Do you think they went ahead, are they waiting for you?" Why was I asking? _God, now I'm acting like him..._

He laughed lightly, shrugging, "I don't know. It'd probably be better if they went ahead and left."

"Why?"

His face grew serious and grim, "Because Erza didn't want me to follow you. If she's at the guild, she'll kill me."

_Is he joking?_

"She's scary," Happy added. "I'm still surprised you left in the first place, Natsu. You're terrified of Erza."

He shrugged again, "This was more important."

"Uh-huh," Happy said. He had on a knowing smile.

"What's that for?" Natsu shouted. "That's all I swear!"

Happy laughed, "I believe ya Natsu."

I giggle lightly.

"Now what are you laughing for?" His cheeks were growing pinker.

I shook my head, "No reason." I hooked my fingers behind my back, walking forward.

"You're clueless," I heard Caden say.

"Wha—?"

I rolled my eyes as the familiar building came into view.

"Here we are!" Natsu declared.

And so we were. It was a pretty standard guildhall, the most prominent feature; the purple letters proclaiming the name.

"Pretty cool huh?" Natsu asked, nudging my arm with his elbow.

I shrugged, hiding my smile, "Whatever."

"Lets head inside!" he said, pushing the large, orange doors.

"Look who's back," the black haired boy from yesterday said once him, Happy, Caden and his dad stepped inside. I followed behind slowly, taking in the sights. Again, a longing stung my chest. This was the first time I'd ever stepped foot in the Fairy Tail guildhall, but something buried deep in my memory was saying otherwise.

"I assume the mission went well," Erza said.

"It was easy," Natsu boasted, but I saw him shiver.

"Who's your friend?" the blond asked, looked past Natsu. All eyes turned to me. Now, I'm not one for attention. I like to keep of the radar, so the staring made me uneasy.

Natsu walked over to me, putting his arm around my shoulder, "This is Asana. She's going to join."

His gesture brought me comfort, but I shrugged away from his grasp, "I never said anything like that."

He shrugged, "Hey Erza, where's gramps?"

"He;s here," she said, nodding to her right.

The crowd parted and an extremely short, elderly man stepped through. He had black eyes with white hair and a thick white mustache. He was wearing a white shirt with a black Fairy Tail symbol on his chest with an orange hooded jacket, along with matching orange shorts and an orange and blue jester hat. "Is there a problem?"

Both Natsu and Happy looked to me. My eyes widened, "What?"

"It _is_ your mission," Natsu said, with a sly smile.

"Aye."

"But—" Makarov looked at me expectantly. I sighed, "Caleb's dad has collected a debt and left his family to make sure they weren't hurt. Happy made the suggestion that you would be willing to have him work for you. That way he could pay the money and his kids wouldn't be without their father."

The old man looked over me for awhile. There was something critical in his gaze. Before I could go farther, his expression grew soft, and he nodded, "I like that idea. Good job Happy."

"Yay!" Caleb cried.

"Thank you so much," their dad said.

"You!" The celebrating and happy cheers was cut short. I turned, facing the voice with the others. A group of four was standing just outside the guild hall entrance. The leader was pointing into the building, at me. Something about him looked familiar.

"You're the guy from yesterday," Natsu said, standing next to me. He crossed his arms over his bare chest, a smirk forming, "I was wondering when you'd come looking for payback."

"Natsu," Erza said, her voice hard, "What happened?"

"Nothing—" Natsu began.

The guy interrupted, "You don't toss me into a spring and walk away without punishment. So come out girly, or are you too scared?"

"Please," I called back, "I didn't toss you. Besides, it's your own fault."

"You gonna fight him?" Natsu asked, his voice low, his breath ticking my ear.

I looked at him, "Why? He's running on ego. There's no reason to fight someone like that, they're so focused on beating the other person that they don't worry about strategy. And when it got down to the last moments, his buddies would join in. How's that fair?"

"If that does happen, I'll jump in," he said. Natsu shrugged, "He's calling you out Asana, no self-respecting person would turn down a challenge."

"Fine." I stepped out of the guildhall, walking towards the challenger.

"It's a shame to have to do this, after all you are a pretty one."

I simply smiled, "Are you ready, or are you going to try sweet talking me to surrender?"

He slapped his palms together, a blue circle appeared. He pointed both his index fingers at me. "Acid shot."

Steaming hot water shot from his fingers. I threw my right hand in front of me, whispering, "Broken Steel." An ice blue circle appeared at the base of my outstretched hand. The circle lifted into the air following my hand, my hand clasping on the handle of a sword. I brought is down just in time to block the incoming attack. Boiling water splashed around me, sizzling as it touched the dirt.

Whispered murmurs enclosed around me. A look of disbelief was on his face, "But how? How could you have possibly blocked that?"

I charged at him. Not giving him a chance to run, much less attack again. I brought the gunblade down, swinging at his chest. I dropped behind him, turned and planted my foot into his back, propelling him forward. He sailed straight past the Fairy Tail bunch, slamming into the farthest wall.

All three of his teammates were standing off to the side, watching in horror as their leader was defeated. They all looked to me, "Y-You beat him." My body tensed as I readied myself for them to attack.

"I don't think so," he said loudly, drawing everyone's attention.

I rolled my eyes. _He's persistent, I'll give him that._ I swung my gunblade onto my shoulder, "I'm glad you're not down, the fun can continue."

He smacked his hands together again, "Acid Slash."

This time, I wasn't going to wait for his attack to reach me. I ran towards him, my weapon pulled behind me. I jumped through the water. Using the side of the blade, I knocked him sideways, narrowly missing the support beams outside the building.

"I don't get it," he mumbled, lifting himself up, "She ran right through it without a single injury. No ones ever been able to do that." He prepared himself for another attack.

My hands clenched into fists. I dug my sword into the ground, "Stop."

He shook his head, his eyes filling with tears, "No! You need to pay—"

"Look at you!" I yelled, interrupting him. I stopped, taking a calming breath. I walked towards him, "You're going to end up getting yourself hurt over something as trivial as being flipped by a girl."

He shook his head rapidly, "You don't get it."

I shrugged, placing my hand on his shoulder. My voice was calmer as I spoke, "Maybe not, but wasting your life worrying about trivial things is only going to slow you down. You won't become stronger, and the ones you care about will suffer the most."

He looked at me, tears still lingering in his eyes. His gaze drifted to his team. "I let them down didn't I?" he asked, quietly.

"No," I said.

He nodded, sighing heavily, "You know I'm going to challenge you again."

I shrugged, "If you can find me, sure."

He laughed, walking to meet his friends. I walked to my weapon, pulling it from the ground. Applause and cheers broke out from the bystanders.

"That was awesome!" Natsu cried, running up to me, the guild not far behind him.

"You can use requip?" the black haired boy asked.

"Use what?"

"That sword- or whatever it is," he said, pointing at the gunblade. "During the fight, you used requip to make it appear."

"It's called requip?"

"It's your own magic, and you don't know what it's called?" someone from within the guild asked.

I shrugged, the gunblade disappearing.

"What else can you do?" Happy asked. "Erza's magic is requip too and she has a bunch of really cool armors to change from."

"Broken Steel is all I've ever had. I don't know if there's any others." I gave another shrug, leaving the questioning. I faced Caden and his dad, "Now that we've got your debt situation covered, it's time for you to be with your family."

He nodded, "I've been away from them for too long."

I gave him a nod, following him away from the group. I linked my fingers behind my head, "You coming Natsu?" I turned half my body, keeping my legs in place.

He was confused.

"You said you wanted to see Lyra's face when we brought her brother and dad back. Don't tell me that was made up."

He smiled big, running up to me.

"Nelenna?" Caden's dad called, pushing their door open. "Lyra?"

"Daddy?" Lyra called. She ran out from a hallway, jumping into his arms. She looked at me, Natsu and Happy, "You did it. You brought daddy back."

"I promised didn't I?"

"I can't thank you enough," Nelenna cried, embracing her family. "I'll go get your reward."

"No, that's OK. We were happy to do this."

"But I must pay you somehow," she said. She went into one of the bedrooms, before standing in front of me. She reached for my hand, slipping something inside it. I looked down. It was a ring. The metal was a shiny silver with an ice blue diamond. Inside the jewel was a small rose. "Take this."

My breath caught in my throat. "Nelenna, I couldn't possibly," I began.

She silenced me, wrapping her arms around my neck, "You have done so much for me and my family. Please accept this as a token of our appreciation and our thanks."

I nodded, my hand enclosing around the small ring. She released me, holding me at arms length, "You two must be hungry. Come, supper is almost ready."

"I'm sorry, but I must decline. Thank you though, Nelenna. I'm glad I was able to help you." I walked out of their house, slipping the ring onto the middle finger of my right hand. The leather, fingerless gloves helped to hold it in place. The sun was in it's evening stage. It was amazing how quickly time passed.

"Asana, wait!" I made my legs move faster, but Natsu caught up with me. His hand wrapped around my bicep, "You're just going to leave?"

I moved my arm from his grasp. "Natsu, please just leave me alone," I asked, unable to bite back the overwhelming sadness anymore. Being in that house, feeling all the love the family had for each other; it was too much.

"What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "It doesn't matt—"

His hand was on my arm again, only it was my shoulder. He spun my rapidly, his other hand securing my other shoulder, forcing me to face him. He looked into my eyes, searching, "Asana, it matters if you're crying. What's wrong?"

I stared at him, unable to look away. Finally I sighed, "It's just a personal problem I need to sort out."

"Like what?" he pressured.

"I don't know," I cried, breaking from his gaze. I sank to my knees. "I don't know. I don't have any memories of my past. I try to remember, but I can't."

Natsu knelt in front of me. He tucked strands of my long hair behind my ear, "You don't have any memories?" I shook my head. The next thing I knew, Natsu wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled me close to him. I sat there, momentarily stunned. First, I actually told him that I didn't have any memories, and second because I realized I wanted this. Maybe wanted wasn't the right word. Needed? He was the first person to continuously push me for answers. "You must"ve felt so alone," he whispered.

I hadn't realized my arms had lifted, sliding around his neck, and I had leaned into him until the soft material of his scarf brushed against my cheek. I tightened my arms, burying my face into his neck.

"Don't worry," he began, still whispering, "You won't be lonely anymore OK?"

I nodded. And then it happened; I started crying. The worst part? I couldn't stop. The walls were busted; everything was free to twist and torment.

Through the material of my shirt, I could feel Natsu's hands moving; stroking my hair. I felt my eyelids close. It was a simple action, but it had calmed me down considerably. I took a shaky breath, resting my cheek on his shoulder. We remained like that for awhile; him holding me, me trying to calm down. Soon, I had stopped crying altogether. I was left with quiet sniffles and a slight tremble. I half expected Natsu to push me away, but he didn't. He remained quiet, his hand running up and down my back. "Natsu?" my voice was raspy and weak.

"Yeah?"

Sniffle. "I want to join Fairy Tail."

"I convinced you." I could just see the smile on his face.

I laughed, "Yes, you did."

He pulled away from me carefully, nodding his head to the side, "Lets get going."

* * *

**A/N: For those who are wondering... Her outfit resembles Lightnings from Final Fantasy XIII. and Broken Steel is the new gunblade she uses in FF XIII-2**

**this is a link to a picture: wiki/Gunblade?file=FFXIII-2_ #Final_Fantasy_XIII-2**

**(I do not own Final Fantasy, Lightning or her weapons...)**


	4. Will You Remember?

_~Chapter 4 - Will You Remember?~_

* * *

Things had quieted down quickly as Natsu and I walked through the main entrance for the second time that day. The sun had already set, the moon beginning it's nightly watch. The attention was back on us, every eye trailing after while Natsu lead me to the small man.

"You've returned," Makarov noted. He was sitting cross-legged on the bar.

"I would like to join Fairy Tail," I said, my voice strong though I was trembling inside.

He looked me over for quite sometime. Again, there was a calculating look. Finally he shook his head.

"What?" I heard Natsu say, shocked.

"I am sorry my dear," he began. Behind me, the members shared their own shocked murmurs. "You see, I cannot allow you to join," he began with a small smile, his hand brushing the top of my left shoulder, "Because you are already a member."

Silence.

A girl in a long pink dress, long white hair and dark blue eyes stepped closer to Makarov from behind the bar. She switched from Makarov to me. "Are you sure?"

He gave a huff of displeasure, "Of course I'm sure. I gave her the stamp myself; how long has it been? Almost eight years now."

I shook my head. Nothing made sense. How could I possibly have been a member for eight years now? "I'm sorry, but you're wrong. Today is the first time I've seen you."

He shook him head, smiling, "Take a closer look my dear."

I furrowed my eyebrows, looking to my shoulder. Where his hand was placed, a gold circle appeared. The light filled the entire guildhall, blinding everyone.

"See," he said, triumphantly. Sure enough, as I looked down at my right shoulder, the Fairy Tail guild stamp began to appear, ice blue in color.

"If she's been in our guild for eight years, then why don't any of us remember," Gray said.

"Because," master began, "She was attacked while on a mission. One of them placed a curse on her. It was an ancient curse that made her lose all her memories. Everyone she's ever come into contact with would forget they've ever met her."

"Master, is there a way to lift the curse?" Erza asked.

He nodded, "It's already been done. Your memories won't come back all at once, but they will return."

"Asana," Natsu said, but stopped. I wasn't by master anymore. I passed through the doors to the side, into the open area we used to train. So many memories were rushing at me;

§§§

_"Three days," Erza said, dropping a stack of books on the desk. Natsu stared at them in shock, his gaze moving back to the young, red haired wizard. "I will teach you to read, even if it kills you."_

_"No!" he said, trying to get away._

_Erza grabbed the stubborn fire-breather by the collar of his shirt, throwing him against the outside wall of the guild. "Oh stop complaining, it's just a little vocabulary lesson."_

_Elfman and I stood by the door, watching the scene. I flinched when Natsu's body crashed into the brick. "Idiot," Gray, who was watching nearby, mumbled. He was shaking his head._

_"Gray, your clothes," I said, not taking my eyes off the two Fairy Tail wizards in the yard._

_"Aww, dangit!"_

_"Pervert!" Natsu yelled._

_"Focus!" Erza was using one of the books as a weapon, smacking Natsu upside the head._

_"I don't want you to teach me," he whined, protecting his head and face from her attacks._

_I stepped into the yard, walking up to them, "Hey Erza. Would it be OK if I taught Natsu?"_

_She shrugged, "I don't see why not." She gave me a smile, heading into the guild._

_Natsu sat cross-legged on the grass, his arms folded over his chest, "I don't need anyone to teach me. Igneel taught me to read, I swear."_

_I knelt down, "I believe you Natsu but, even if you know everything, there's still more to learn. It's kinda like training. You keep training to get stronger than you already are. It's just something you'll always do."_

_"All right."_

_"We can learn more together, okay?"_

_He nodded, smiling big, "Sure!"_

§§§

_Soft, warm sunlight escaped into the dark room through slits in the curtain. There was a knock on the door._

_"Natalie?"_

_Silence. The woman stepped in the room, closing the door gently behind her._

_"Go away," the small girl muttered weakly, her voice raspy from crying._

_The woman didn't listen, "Natalie, please come out. Your father is just angry. He didn't mean what he said."_

_"He doesn't want me, he never wanted me!" she cried, ignoring her mother's words._

_The woman knelt beside the girl, pulling her into her arms, "Shh. No sweetheart. He loved you and your sister more than anything."_

_She sniffled, "Then why is he sending me away?_

_She looked down at the girl, pushing her red-gold hair away from her face, "He doesn't know what else he can do. He's just overwhelmed by the strength of your magic."_

_"I'm a freak," she muttered, looking away from her mother._

_"No," the woman said sternly, "Natalie, you are beautiful and strong. You have a big heart and a smile that warms the hearts of others. You are in no way a freak."_

§§§

_"What are you doing?" Lucy asked. She bolted into the room pushing me away from the window._

_"He's going to send me to their house. Lucy, we both know how they are." I lifted my bag further on my shoulder, "I'm going to find someone who can help m control this."_

_"Do you really think running away is going to help?" she whispered, incredulous._

_"Yes. Yes, I do," I said, "we both know I'll learn to control this with someone who can actually train me, than being with them."_

_She shook her head, "Nat, you're only six years old. What do you know about living on your own?_

_"Nothing," I admitted with a shrug, "but I'd rather be on my own than under their supervision."_

_Lucy sighed, still not convinced._

_"Luce, I'm just as scared as you are but, I can't live with our aunt and uncle. We both know what they do. We both have the scars to prove it. If there was another way, I'd chose it in a heartbeat, but there isn't." I pushed the window open, dropping my bag to the ground, two stories beneath me. I faced my big sister again. She was was crying, but I knew she understood._

_Something twisted in my gut as I lowered myself down: _This is the last time I'll see her.

§§§

"It just wasn't the same without you. You remember when you left right?" Lucy asked.

I faced her. She was standing a few feet from me, her brown eyes sad but hopeful. "Lucy, I never meant t-"

She ran at me, throwing her arms around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her in return. "I am so sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," she said. "I'm not mad that you left."

"You're not?"

She shook her head, tears were spilling from her eyes, "No. You're my little sister. I could never be mad at you. You did what you had to do, there's nothing I could've said or done that would've changed your mind. You're stubborn that way," she added with a laugh, holding me at arms length.

"It is good to have you back, kid," Makarov said.

"Heh, it's good to be back," I said, wiping at my dampened cheeks.

"What all do you remember?" Happy asked.

I exhaled, deeply, "A lot. In all truth, I feel like my head is going to explode."

"I admit, I didn't think they would come back so quickly," master said.

"Hey, at least I'm getting them back," I reassured, "I just wish I could remember who attacked me and why."

"Is anything coming back from that day?" Gray asked.

I began to shake my head, "I don't...know. They were-" I stopped.

"What?" Lucy asked.

Jumbled images flashed through my mind with an incredible velocity. It was difficult to catch ahold of a single person. Then I saw it; the face of a man. His face was covered in bandages. Only a blood red eye was visible

§§§

_I lay on my back, gasping in pain._

_Three unconscious bodies before me; all with a hooded skull somewhere on their bodies. A man in a long black coat knelt down beside my broken body. A bandaged hand reached out, cupping the side of my face. The uncovered, blood red eye scanned me. He moved over the shimmering Fairy Tail mark on my right shoulder before focusing back on me, "Look at you sweetheart. Where's your guild now?"_

_I glared up at him, struggling to fight back, but my body was immobile. "Once they find out what you did, they'll come find you," I spat at him. "You'll be sorry you messed with Fairy Tail."_

_"Amazing." An impressed look washed over his eye, "You're at your weakest point and you still have the strength to fight." He laughed, the sound sent shivers down my body, "I don't have to worry about your little friends because after I'm done with you, nobody will remember you."_

§§§

I covered my ears with my hands, dropping to my knees. Lucy was the first to follow me. Her hand on my shoulder sent warmth and comfort through me. Gray, Erza, Mirajane, Natsu; they all knelt beside me, their words of comfort and worry filled my head.

"What is it?"

"His face was covered in bandages, all I could see was an eye."

"Did you see his guild mark?"

I nodded, "It was a hooded skull."

"I've never heard of that mark before," Erza said.

"Igarde mentioned it before," I began, "She said they are assassins trained to hunt Dragon Slayers. She never said anything about any of them knowing a curse to erase one's entire lifes memories."

"It's alright, Asana," Erza said, her hand on my shoulder, "Igarde taught you as much as she could've in the time the two of you had together."

"We know their guild mark, why don't we pay them a visit," Natsu said, punching his palm with his other hand.

I shook my head, standing, "Natsu, we know next to nothing about them or their guild."

"They specialize in dealing with dragon slayers, their mark is a hooded skull, the one who cursed you was covered in bandages. What else is there to know?"

"Where's their guildhall?" I asked, my hands on my hips.

"We could ask around, see if anyone has heard of that mark."

"That could take forever, Natsu," Gray said, crossing him arms over his bare chest.

"Then what do we do?" Mirajane asked, directing her attention to the guild master.

"I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Whoever this guild is, they must be working outside of the Magic Counsel's knowing. And based on our limited information, a grand scale search would be too messy with too many risks."

"There's something I don't get though," I thought aloud. "They're trained to hunt Dragon Slayers, but he didn't kill me or take me to his guildhall. Instead he erased my memory and me from your memories."

"Maybe he didn't know you're a Dragon Slayer," someone put in.

"That doesn't explain why she was attacked," Erza said.

"Unless he thought the spell would kill you," Cana said.

I shook my head, "No, he knew exactly what it would do."

"Did he say something?" Gray asked.

I thought back, "He said that when he was done with me, nobody would remember me."

"Gah!" Natsu exclaimed, "Why can't this be simple?"

"It is simple," Makarov said, "I am sorry Natalie, but it seems your part in their plan in not yet done."

"An even better reason to find their guildhall," Natsu pressured.

"We will find the people who did this to our family," Master Makarov said, "But for now, we all need a good nights sleep."

"Alright. Nat," Lucy grabbed my hand, leading me away from the group, "You can stay with me."

"Fine with me."

Lucy and I spent most of the night catching up. I learned that she ran away too, though not as young as I had.

"Did he even care?" I asked.

Lucy shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know. His attitude didn't change much."

"What about mom? I must've broke her heart."

Lucy's face grew sad, "Nat, there's something-" She sighed, "Mom's dead. She couldn't fight the sickness anymore."

"She's-" my vision blurred. I shook my head. "No. No that's not true. She can't be de- Lucy please tell me you're lying."

Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head slowly, "I wish I was."

"When?"

"Seven years ago. Don't start blaming yourself Nat. We both know that she had been sick for awhile."

Nothing Lucy could say would change how I felt inside. Mom died four years after I ran away.

"Natalie? Say something," Lucy said. She was doing what I couldn't; cry. "Mom wasn't angry at you. Or disappointed. Nat, she loved you so much." She placed her hand on my neck, her thumb brushing at the few fallen tears.

I placed my hand on hers, "I know."

"I know that she's looking down on us; that she's been watching over the two of us all these years. I bet she was so happy when Igarde found you and took you in, when you became a member of Fairy Tail and befriended so many people."

I only nodded in response.

"Alright, that's enough sharing for one day. Lets get some sleep."


	5. Is There More?

_~Chapter 5 - Is There More?~_

* * *

§§§

_The sun was warm and bright, shining brilliantly down on Middle Earth. A soft breeze swept through, dancing between the branches of the trees and rolling along the grassy hills. Further down a wide dirt road, a small child was running away; a group of three pursuing her._

_She lost her footing as she stumbled down a steep hill. Not far from the bottom was a lake. She tumbled into the lake, smacking her head on a sharp rock. She sunk under the dark water, her vision fading to black._

_She opened her eyes slowly. At first her vision was blurry, after a few seconds things focused. She was staring up at a ceiling._

_Whispered talk floated to her ears. She turned her head to the side. More than six feet away, three figures huddled together. The girl's eyes widened in fear as she saw two dragons. One was scarlet red, the other was a white-blue. There was also a short man with white hair._

_She sat up quickly, focusing on getting away. While her attention was on the three, she smacked her head against something hard. She fell back on her butt, both her hands on her forehead._

_"Oww," a small boy cried. "Hey! What'd you do- Wait," his voice softened. "You're the girl Igarde found."_

_She whined as a sharp pain shot through her head._

_"Hey, you shouldn't be up," he said softly. His voice seemed closer._

_She opened her eyes to see the boy's face mere inches from hers'. She gave a small yelp, falling on her back._

_He leaned forward, "What are you doing?"_

_She placed her foot on his chest, pushing him back._

_"What was that for?" he asked, balling his fist at her._

_She crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from him. That's when she noticed the two dragons and small man were staring at them._

_She crawled to the boy, cowering behind him._

_"It seems she's never seen a dragon before," the small man observed._

_The white dragon chuckled, "I believe you are right Makarov. Don't be afraid child, no one here will harm you."_

_She shook her head, her hands gripping the boy's shoulders. She pressed her forehead against his back._

_"It's OK," he whispered, his head turned to the side. "I know they look mean and scary, but they're super nice." He turned._

_Her hands fell to her sides. Her bangs hid her face from the boy and others. Her shoulders began to shake._

_"What's you name?"_

_She was about to respond with Natalie, but stopped. That's why she was chased. People knew she was worth something. "Asana," she said quietly, looking up at him from under her hair._

_"My name's Natsu." He gave her a big smile, "You don't need to cry. You're well protected with us!"_

_Asana looked back down to her lap. Without a second thought, she threw herself at Natsu. She buried her face in her chest, her hands gripping the front of his shirt. Tears fell from her eyes._

_At first, Natsu's body was tense, his arms hanging at his sides. Then he began to react. Now, most would think that, at the age of seven, any boy would push her away, screaming about 'cooties'. That's certainly what Igarde and Makarov thought._

_But Natsu surprised them both. His arms moved around her waist, sliding under her long hair. He tightened his grip, pulling her closer to him, and resting his cheek on the top of her head. He remained silent, just letting her cry._

_Her cries ceased, reduced to small sniffles, which also stopped._

_"There," he whispered, rubbing her back in a vertical motion, "Told you I could make you stop crying."_

_She sniffled, "You never said that." Her voice was quiet and raspy. She relaxed into him, her hands slowly releasing his shirt._

_He chuckled, "But I did, didn't I?"_

_She giggled, nodding her head against his clothes._

_"Asana," Natsu began. He tilted his face down, trying to hide the blush on his face, "Lets be friends. Kay?"_

_Asana smiled warmly, her cheeks heating up, "Kay!"_

§§§

"What are you talking about? She's not awake," Natsu said loudly. His warm breath tickled my nose.

"She will be if you don't shut up," Gray said, his voice lower but still loud.

I scrunched my eyebrows, lifting my hand up. I brushed against something soft; Natsu's face. I placed my hand on his face, pushing him away. I turned over, a satisfied grin on my face when I heard him trip and fall on his butt.

He growled. It wasn't an angry growl, but the kind that he always gave me; ever since we were kids. "You're awake so you're fair game."

"Ha," I mumbled, my voice filled with sleep. "Natsu, go away."

"You have some explaining to do," came Erza's voice. She was amused, but it was still strict and commanding.

"I didn't do it," I said though a yawn, pulling the blanket right under my chin. The room became annoyingly quiet. I was debating whether or not to face them when my bed slightly sank, and there was a pressure on either side of my chest.

I opened my eyes, giving him a sideways glance. Natsu was leaning over me, wearing a sly grin. There was a look in his black eyes that I couldn't place.

I turned more on my side, facing him. I found myself smirking, "Something I can help you with?"

He raised an eyebrow, saying nothing.

I chuckled, shaking my head. I propped myself up on my elbows. He remained in his position, his face never moving. I lifted myself up will our faces were only inches apart.

His smiled wavered, a soft pink forming on his cheeks. "Get up."

I sighed, falling back. "But I don't want to," I whined.

"That's too bad."

My head turned to the side. A small smiled formed on my face as I thought back to my dream. "Natsu?" I said, my voice soft.

"What?"

"Do you remember when we first met?" I didn't want to look at him. _What is he doesn't? What then?_

He was silent for a while. I looked at him from the corner of my eyes. His face was unreadable; which was a first. I was always able to tell what he was feeling by his facial expressions.

I closed my eyes again, "It's OK if you don't."

"Of course I do," he said.

I looked back at him, turning my head. He was flashing me his signature goofy grin. "You do?"

He nodded, "You didn't believe I could make you stop crying."

"You never said that," I said.

"It was implied."

"That's bull," I laughed.

"To tell you the truth, I was surprised when you did that," he admitted.

"What, hugged you?" I asked, a teasing smiled playing at my lips.

"Threw yourself at me is more like it," he said with a laugh.

I could feel my face heat up, "I think your exaggerating."

"I don't think I am," he said.

"Hey Natsu, how's it going?" Gray asked, calling from outside the door.

"Workin' on it," he answered.

I raised an eyebrow, "How can I get up if you're on me?"

"Hmm... I see your problem. But I'm not on you. I could be though," he added. The bed dipped as he swung his leg over. He straddled me, still leaning over.

My breath caught as he feeling of his body on mine. "Natsu," I managed to say. The look in his eyes returned.

He leaned his head down, his gaze flicking from my eyes to my mouth.

I felt my upper body leave the bed slowly, Natsu coming closer. Our lips brushed and he smiled.

"I'm only kidding," he said, moving off of me. "Get dressed and meet me in the living room."

I nodded, watching Natsu walk away. I threw myself back, sighing heavily. I slid my pillow out from under my head, smashing it against my face. _Pull it together Nat. He's just a childish person..._ I removed the pillow, sitting up.

I threw the covers away, standing. The bedroom door opened slowly. "Hey," Lucy said, peeking in.

"Hi," I replied, walking towards her dresser.

"Sorry about Natsu. It's my fault he woke you up like that. I made the mistake of answering the door," she mumbled, angry.

I laughed lightly, "It's alright. I'm used to it."

"So do you remember how long have you known Natsu?" she asked, sitting on the edge of my bed.

I nodded, "A while. He's the one who introduced me to Igarde. Well, indirectly," I added. I grabbed the red bag near Lucy's dresser. I laid it onto the bed next to my older sister. I pulled off the navy blue night shirt and small black shorts. I replaced them with a white sleeveless shirt and a red plaid pleated skirt lined with black lace. I sat on the bed, slipping on the thigh high black stockings. I pulled out a semi-transparent pink sweeper, putting it on. Next I pulled out the black armband, pulling it up to my bicep on my right arm (right under my symbol). On the other bicep, I wrapped a white cloth. Lastly, I added worn, ivory ankle boots.

"Cute outfit," Lucy remarked.

I looked down at myself. "You think so?"

She nodded, "Definitely!"

"I'm forgetting something..." I said, staring at myself in Lucy's mirror. My eyes stopped at my hand, then traveled to my neck. "Do you have any thread; or something I can fashion to make a necklace?"

"Uh, yeah." She went to her desk, digging through the top drawer. "Will this work?" she held up a thick silver ribbon.

"Yeah." I took it from her, slipping the ring from my finger. I put the ring onto the ribbon, pulling it so the ring rested on my collar bone.

"Was that the reward?" Lucy asked.

I nodded, "I couldn't take money from her. Besides, I didn't accept the job for an award."

She nodded, "That makes sense."

"So why did I have to get up?"

Lucy smiled knowingly, "You'll just have to follow us. And don't think we won't tie you up and force you," she added, a finger in my face.

"I'm so scared," I joked. "You're not going to tell me? Luce, I don't want a surprise..."

"Too bad. Come on." She opened the door to Erza. She was looking annoyed.

"Where's Gray and Natsu?" Lucy asked.

"Natsu said there was something he had to do and asked Gray for help," she said simply.

_He asked Gray for help? I know Natsu cares for him as a guild mate, but it's still out of character._

"And you let them?" Lucy asked, shocked. "Erza, they can't go more than ten minutes without fighting."

Erza smiled, knowingly, nodding, "I am aware Lucy. You, Asana and I are going to start without them. Think of it as a girls day. I'm sure they will join later."

I nodded, "What do you have in mind?"

A slight blush crept onto her cheeks, "I'm not sure how these girls days work. What normally is done?"

Lucy and I exchanged looks, a huge smile forming on both our faces. She walked over to the red head, "Don't worry Erza, I've got this entire day planned. It's a good thing the boys left. Now I don't have to kick them out," she admitted.

"So what's first?" I asked.

"I was thinking we should get something to eat. There's still a lot of catching up to do."

Erza jumped on, "Yes. Natalie, you have some explaining." She stared hard at me. I didn't know whether to be scared or intimidated.

"I-I do?"

She nodded, slowly, "We shall discuss this over lunch."

"Okay..."

_~  
~Natsu~_

"What's your problem, Natsu?" Gray asked.

I kept my gaze ahead, remaining quiet. My mind was still processing what happened. Asana had pushed me away playfully. Erza, barely, said she had to explain her title as the Rogue. Then her and Gray left the room, saying I was capable of getting Asana up._ What did that mean? Yeah, she got up, but still... Why had I done that? Why didn't I try dragging her out of bed? Thrown her covers off? Pulled her pillow out from under her? Anything?! Why did I lean over her? Why didn't she push me away? Then I-_ My face heated up. _I was on top of her. I felt myself leaning forward, felt her lips brush mine. I pulled away then. What would've happened if I had stayed?_

The memory replayed over and over again; circling on a never-ending loop. _I don't think anything would've happened. She doesn't like me like that; just a friend. And that's fine. She's a great friend; the best one I have. We don't need to be anything more._ I know that wasn't true. No matter how hard I try to hide it, I'll always want there to be something more than just 'best friends'. _I can't try anything. I can't lose her._ The replay slowed. I watched every detail, hoping to find something. My mind ran over after I swung my leg over. I was leaning over, my face closing on hers. But I was going slow, I didn't even realize I had moved. And yet, she got close fast. _She lifted herself up. The first time was just us messing around. But the second time. I don't know, it seemed different. Her breathing quickened, and there was a glimmer in her blue eyes. It seemed like she wanted me to kiss her—_

"Natsu," Gray said. He was getting pissed. _So, _I thought. "Why did you drag me away? What are we doing?"

"Getting supplies," I said, simply.

"Supplies," he repeated. "For what? We were only going to chill today; catch up, hopefully get more information about the guild."

I shook my head, "Lucy and I are planning a surprise party for Asana. A welcome back party. She's been gone almost three years."

"I know that," Gray said, almost annoyed. "Why didn't you drag Lucy then?"

"Because she said that the three of them are going to have a girls day; until the party. After we drop off the supplies at the guild, we're going to meet up and hang out."

"So we're keeping her busy till setup is done?"

I nodded, "Something like that."

Gray went quiet after that. I may not like the stripper, but I know how he works. He's a pretty level-headed guy, calm where I'm tempered. I didn't need to be a guild mate to know his thoughts were with Asana, though. I'd be willing to bet that's where everyone's mind in the guild is.

I don't have all my memories concerning her back, but I know that she went on an S-Class mission the day she disappeared I was able to catch her before she left. She seemed... nervous. This was her first solo mission so it was normal. I didn't see that it she wasn't only nervous. She was terrified. Looking back now, I can see the hidden terror in her eyes, the way her fingers wrapped around themselves, how tight it was when she hugged me goodbye.

"What are your thoughts?" he asked, suddenly.

"About what?"

"Well, finding out that she's Lucy's sister, that her name isn't Asana, but Natalie," Gray said. "Why did she lie?"

I shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe she didn't want to be Natalie anymore."

"That's crazy Natsu," Happy but in. "Natalie is a pretty name. Why would she change it? If you ask me, I think something happened at her home. Something that, maybe, forced her to change her name. I mean, she was with Igarde for a while, then she came to Fairy Tail. It makes you wonder how she ended up with the dragon in the first place."

"Who knows," I said. "All I care about is she's back. It doesn't matter if her name's Asana or Natalie, she's still the same person."

"How would you know?" Gray asked, "it's only been a day since the curse was destroyed."

I shrugged, "I just do."

"Could you be more cryptic?" Gray mumbled.

"I don't get," Happy whispered to the ice wizard, "well, first he's not trying to fight with you. And I don't know if you've noticed, but he's been acting strange since Natalie came back."

"I've noticed," Gray said.

My teeth were grinding together; they knew I could hear them perfectly. _What's the point of whispering?_

"You know," Happy said. I could just see the devious smile on his blue face, "I think Natsu _likes_ Natalie!"

"Do not!" I yelled, spinning on them.

Happy laughed, knowingly, "So I'm right?"

"Oh just shut up," I growled.

"Wow, he dropped that fast," the cat teased.

"I think you're right, Happy," Gray insisted. "When are you gonna tell her Natsu?"

"I don't like her," I said. "Why would I? I mean, she's annoying."

Gray smirked, "That's hurtful. Maybe I should tell her what you just said. I'm sure she'd be grateful to know how you feel."

My face fell, my 'bravado' shattered, "W-Wait, don't tell her."

"Natsu, you're an idiot," Happy mumbled.

Gray turned and walked away from us.

"Hey! I didn't mean it that way!" I started chasing after him, "Gray, seriously!"

He watched over the two Fairy Tail wizards with interest. So this was her guild?

"Pathetic," he mumbled. They were nothing but children. But the pink haired one... there was something different about him. Could he be like her? A Dragon Slayer? If he is then, things are about to get more exciting in this little town.

"Boss, we got what you wanted. There is another Dragon Slayer in Fairy Tail. Natsu Dragneel," a member from his group handed over the file. Inside was a picture of the pink haired boy he just watched.

"Excellent," he said. "If that's all—"

"There's another thing," he said quickly. "You remember the girl we attacked about three years ago? Well, I just saw her in the guild. Seems she got her memory back."

"What?"

He flinched, "Yeah, Makarov used a counter spell to erase the darkness. I'm not sure what she remembers, but she's a member again. Another thing, the Dragon Slayer is friends with another Slayer and Erza Scarlet."

"Anything else I should know?" he spat.

"We-We also found out she's a Heartfilia; his youngest daughter to be exact. This was harder to dig up. Turns up she ran away when she was just a kid."

This renewed his interest in the girl. She's been fighting since childhood? Explains the difficulties in taking her down... "All that matters is she remembers. Thank you for the information, Ban. I will keep an eye on our little Dragon Slayer."

"Boss," he said, timidly, "why are you so interested in the Heartfilia girl?"

The man in bandages sighed, "Ban, you've been loyal to me, but you don't need to concern yourself with my plans. She's an important piece in this little game I'm playing; nothing more. Her power is just a bonus."

"Of course," he said. "Is there anything else you'd like us to find?"

"No," an evil smirk covered his face under the wrap, "I think I'll take over from here."

"Be careful," Ban warned, "she's gotten stronger from the last time we faced her. Don't forget, she almost beat you-"

"That's enough," he warned.

The younger member nodded, walking away.

He scowled as the memories from his encounter with the girl resurfaced. "She tricked me last time. I will not let it happen again."

* * *

**A/N: The outfit I described is Serah Farron's original outfit in FF XIII. I'm sorry I keep borrowing ideas for what Asana/ Natalie will wear. **


	6. What's the Plan?

**AN: I am so terribly sorry for not updating quick enough. Alright so, there's something I need to ask... did I make anyone too OOC? I really hope I didn't, I hate doing that. If I ever do, or if you feel that someone might not say anything I might write, please speak up! Thanks for those who have stuck with me so far!**

_~Chapter 6 -What's the Plan?~  
_

* * *

"Is there a special reason you have come here, Makarov?"

The old man stepped further into the dim room. All around him were tall cases filled with enchanted books filled with every spell and name of the variations of magic. They were all protected with a special cloaking spell. Whenever anyone but the guardian tried to see the information, the pages would hide their words.

"I'm sorry to be troubling you, Gvene, but I need your help."

Gvene ran her fingers over the spines of a row of the books, "Hmm? My help? Makarov, I don't fight, you know that."

"Yes, I'm aware," he said. "Yesterday I found out a member of Fairy Tail was attacked by a dark guild. I'm very used to those guilds attacking other wizards, but this particular one didn't only attack her."

She faced him, her long silver hair sliding off her shoulder, "This extra thing they did is why you're here, I'm assuming?"

He nodded, "Somehow, they not only erased her memories, but her from those she's ever met. She was wiped from the world and I need to know the spell they used and the members who used it."

She let out a hollow laugh, "You know I cannot just give out such information, Makarov. Although that is strange, it's a rule I will not break."

The old wizard growled in frustration, "Gvene, the member who was attacked isn't just an average wizard. She's a Dragon Slayer, and a damn powerful one."

"All Dragon Slayers are powerful old man," she said, replacing some books to the cases.

"She's different," he tried to reason.

"Oh? And how is she?"

Makarov sighed. Gvene couldn't really be called a friend, nor is she an ally. She works for no one, a companion to herself. She's a trickster who gets what she wants. "You are not in the business of the Dragons, Gvene. It's not your place to know. Please, just take my word."

Gvene scoffed, "How can I take your word if you talk in circles? Makarov, you haven't told me what I need, so I cannot help. Now, if you be so kind as to shut the door on your way out, we're done here." She turned from him, the crimson cloak billowing behind her.

Makarov sighed to himself. He was playing into her hand, "She is the child of Igarde."

"That's impossible," she said. She had barely stopped, her stride slowed. "Igarde was a recluse. She hated all things. She would've never taken in a child. If you are going to lie, then, please, you must be more creative."

"I'm not lying. Does Asana not sound familiar? She was found at the botton of a lake, nearly dead. I'm still unsure why, but Igarde saw the child's distress and went to her aid. She raised the girl, teaching her to control her magic." He chuckled, "You can't tell me you don't remember. After all, was she not the one you gave this to?" Makarov held up a small pendant.

She turned, her focus on the item. Her steps were rocky, her breathing short. Her eyes moved to his, venom and hate filling them, "Where did you get that?"

He held it for her to take, "I found it not far from Magnolia, on a group of thieves. I have a good feeling it was lost to her when she was attacked."

Gvene cradled the pendant in her hands, "I gave this to a small, nieve little girl with a bright smile and a large heart." A pause, "She once told me of her life."

He nodded, "I know of what she did."

"Makarov, that girl is stronger than you know," she warned.

"So you will help me? Gvene, I'm afraid they will come after her again. And when they do, it won't be her memories that will be taken. I must know the name of the guild. Maybe she will be able to recognize something."

"You would risk her like that," Gvene asked, horrified.

"I would never do anything that would put my children at risk," Makarov yelled, "I worry about their safety everyday, but if there is a chance that I may be able to protect anyone of them from harm, I will take it."

She was silent, her eyes grazing over the pendant. Finally, she sighed heavily, "Alright, Makarov. I will follow whatever plan you create. But know, if I sense her in any danger, I will take her here."

"Understood. Although I warn you," he started, "you are in the back of a long line of people who would protect her with their lives. I'm afraid they won't let you simply take her."

She nodded once, "That does not surprise me. Lets hear this plan of yours."

~§§§~  
~Natalie~

"I can't believe you're an S-Class wizard," Lucy said, with a twinge of jealousy.

I laughed lightly, "I doubt I am anymore. I know I can do more than requip, but I'm not sure how. I guess."

"How what?" she asked.

"She just needs training," Erza helped. "Three years of using only that sword of yours has, surely, dampened your other skills. But there's no need to worry on than now," she said, "today is relaxation."

"Us relax?" Lucy asked, "Erza, we're Fairy Tail's most destructive team. "

"So you're a team?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at the red head.

She nodded, "The five of us."

I looked between Erza and Lucy, not understanding their shared expressions, "Am I missing something?"

Lucy laughed, linking an arm through mine, "Nothing, but you need to get that training in soon or I won't have enough for rent."

"Ah," I said, "I get it now. That's dangerous you know."

Erza chuckled, "I am aware, but you are doubting my ability to keep everyone in line. Would you care to have me remind you?"

I shook my head quickly, "No, that's OK." I sighed, "Remind me again why we went and bought these clothes."

"Remind you?" Lucy scoffed, "You were never told to begin with. Jeez sis, can't you just be excited?"

"You know I don't like surprises, Luce," I said.

"Must've slipped my mind." At my glare, she laughed loudly, "Lighten up Nat. It's not a bad surprise."

"Whatever," I huffed. "Still don't like surprises," I muttered under my breath.

"We're back!" Happy cried cheerfully, attacking me with a hug. Behind him came a smiling Gray and an angry Natsu. Gray ran behind me, managing to laugh while out of breath.

"Don't think you can hide behind her you damn stripper!" Natsu was running directly at me. At the last moment, I felt pressure on my shoulders as I was pushed into the fire-breather. He had about a split second to slow before we crashed together, tumbling to the ground.

"Oww," I groaned, a hard mass stopping me from getting up.

Slowly, the pressure lifted. I opened my eyes to Natsu's shocked and apologetic expression, a blush creeping into his cheeks. "Sorry," he mumbled, pushing himself off.

I sat up, my hand going to the back of my head.

"I-uh Nat I'm-"

"If you want to live, you'll start running," I growled.

"What?" Gray asked.

"Five," I said.

Footsteps moved away from me, Lucy laughing madly. I casted her a glare over my shoulder. She put her hands up in surrender, her laugh continuing, "Don't get mad at me. I'm not the one who pushed you."

I sighed, pushing myself from the ground. "How far do you think he'll get before he realizes I'm not chasing him?" I asked, extending a hand to Natsu. I offered him a smile and a wink, pulling him to his feet.

"Hmm, it seems I'm not the only one who can keep Natsu and Gray in line," Erza observed.

"You sure sounded scary," Happy said.

"What was that about anyway?" I asked, looking from Natsu to the other three, "I know I've been gone for awhile, but last I checked, Gray didn't just shove people."

"This is certainly new to me," Erza admitted. I turned to Lucy who shook her head. Happy was next. His little blue face quickly lost it's smile.

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You're hiding something Happy."

"No I'm not," he said, shaking his head. I half-expected Natsu to run to Happy's defense, but he was quiet, his mind on something else. Something was going on with the three of them.

My head began to ache with everything. I sighed, "Whatever Happy. Shall we continue with our previous plans?"

Lucy nodded, wanting to switch topics, "How about getting something to eat?"

"Food sounds lovely," Erza agreed.

"But," Lucy interjected, "we will only eat if you cook for us. I know you loved to help in the kitchen and I've been dying to try your cooking. So, whaddya say?"

I shrugged, "I don't see why not—"

"Asana!"

I looked to my left, watching as a familiar, bar-owner's son was stumbling through the crowd to me. He flashed me a flirtatious grin as he stood before us, "Haven't seen you for some days. What? Bored already?"

I rolled my eyes, chuckling, "I've been bored with you for awhile now." At his whine I continued, "Sorry, though. A lots happened in the past few days."

"Uh-huh," he crossed his arms, noticing the others beside me, "you sure do make friends fast. Or are they apart of the mystery?"

"They're my friends and guild mates."

His jaw dropped, "Guil- So you were just playing me. Saving yourself for them?!"

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, grow up. I was never planning on joining your guild and you know it. Besides, I didn't know then, but I was already with Fairy Tail."

"Natalie," Erza's hand was on my shoulder, "who is this? How do you know each other." I could feel the protective part of her seeping from her body.

I opened my mouth to answer, but he beat me to it, "The name's Jeramy. You could say I saved her ass."

I cut him off with a short laugh, "Oh really? I'm pretty sure you were the one who needed saving." I pointed a thumb at him, facing the others, "Genius here decided to piss of a group of thieves. That's how we met, actually. He thought I owned the small shop he ran into and asked me to hide him. But before I could explain, they busted in and started causing havoc."

He chuckled softly, "Yeah, yeah. I was knocked out and when I woke up, I saw her beautiful face leaning over me. You never did explain what happened."

I shrugged, dropping it, "What are you doing here? I thought your team had a mission."

"Turns out it wasn't as complicated as it seemed," he answered simply. A curious look washed over his eyes, "Wait a sec, did red say Natalie?"

I nodded while Lucy put her arm around me, pulling me close, "That's right! My baby sis!"

He smiled, "All this time you've been living a double life. Running from the Rune Knights or something?"

I let out a short laugh, "I wish. Truthfully, I have no idea what his problem was."

"Who?"

"Long story," I answered with a wave of dismissal.

"That's good, 'cuz I've got plenty of time."

"Well," I scratched the side of my head, "it's not that I don't want you to know. I'm just wary."

"You are afraid he'll come after you again," Erza clarified.

I looked to her, nodding, "How do I know if he's been keeping an eye on me or not. He obviously knows I'm not dead and wouldn't it be stupid to just let me wander unchecked?"

She nodded her head thoughtfully.

"If that's the case though," Lucy interjected, "wouldn't he have done something when you went on that mission with Natsu and Happy?"

"If he does, we'll be ready," Natsu said, more confident than I would've liked him to be.

I sighed, turning back to the confused bar owner's son, "How about we continue with our lunch plans? Then I'll explain everything." Looking around, I saw nods of approval.

"Our place?" Lucy asked, receiving nods from everyone.

~§~

"Here's the deal," I began after we were all situated around Lucy's house, carrying two trays of finger sandwiches. "I'm an S-Class Fairy Tail wizard. Two years ago, I was attacked by some guild of Dragon Slayer assassins. Instead of killing me, they performed some sort of age-old spell that erased my memories, and me from all the people I'd come into contact with."

"So you were, basically, wiped from existence?" he asked, trying to understand.

I nodded, "If you want the short version, yeah that sums it up."

"I still do not understand their reason," Erza said.

Lucy nodded, "Killing you would've been so much easier. Not trying to sound evil or something, but I doubt they could've been sure the spell would've even worked in the first place. Seems too risky to me. And why target you?"

I shrugged, sighing, "Luce, if I only knew. I'm not any kind of special, maybe a Dragon Slayer, but there's more than just me out there. Not saying that anyone else should have this happen to them. But you are right. What's the point behind keeping me alive?"

"Test run?" Jeremy suggested.

"What do you mean by that?" Erza asked.

"You say the spell they used was somethin' really old, right? Only your master knew of it?"

The five of us nodded. "Aye," Happy answered, "he said it was an ancient curse."

"Alright, so maybe this guild didn't know the exact workings of it. You could've just been a guinea pig, Asana- Dammit, sorry, Natalie. They could be planning on using it on a grand scale of some sort."

"That's actually pretty smart," I commented.

He smirked, shrugging, "I have my moments."

I rolled my eyes. "But why?" Lucy asked.

"What's it matter?" Natsu interrupted.

"You're kidding right?" Lucy asked, shaking her head.


End file.
